So, y’all know I’m a HUGE fan of affirmations and they’ve literally changed my life. But even I was shocked by some of the benefits of affirmations and the extensive amount of research that’s been done. It turns out this practice isn’t just a commitment to feeling good, showing up better in your life and increasing self-esteem. It goes a lot deeper and impacts everything from your physical health to the way you show up in your relationships. Discover the shocking benefits of affirmations!
1. Increases Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence
This one is the most obvious reason for starting an affirmation practice. Everyone, even the most confident among us, struggles in some area of their lives. And as silly as it sounds, saying nice things to yourself every day changes the way you see yourself.
The thing is that you have to value what you’re saying. What I mean is even if you don’t particularly believe what you’re saying in the moment you have to want to believe it. So for example, if you say “I can run a marathon,” but you hate running and don’t want to start, well… not only will you not build running confidence but you’re not going to start running either. In contrast if you say “I love my body” even if you don’t, even if you struggle to walk past a mirror without making snarly faces. If it matters to you to make peace with your body and learn to love it, you eventually will. And you’ll increase your self-esteem and confidence in not only this area but in other ways as well.
Oh, and pro-tip here… if you want to love your body when you see that snarl be sure to speak your affirmation!
2. Improves Your Health
This one seemed a little crazy and far fetched to me but there’s actual scientific evidence proving it! So, here goes! An affirmation practice improves your physical health! I know… crazy, right!
When people start an affirmation practice, they are more likely to minimize or quit bad habits and start eating more fruits and vegetables. This causes improvements in their health. And guess what, that’s not the weirdest part! The thing I found most strange is that even if the affirmations have nothing to do with health or your body, THIS STILL HAPPENS!
Psychologists believe that it’s because we are more open to new ideas and change when we feel good about ourselves. And, you know what, I think there may be something to that! I know a lot of insecure people who get nothing but defensive when they hear about health. And in addition to that it only makes logical sense that when you feel better about yourself, you’re more likely to take care of your health. Can you believe there are physical benefits of affirmations?
3. Makes You More Tolerant
This kind of plays into the health thing. People who lack self-confidence and struggle with self-esteem tend to feel defensive and confronted when exposed to differing opinions. It makes sense, you know what they say, hurt people hurt people. Those who feel good about themselves and are working on their own self-improvement are far to busy to judge. And when they are challenged by opinions, ideas or lifestyles different from their own they are able to maintain their sense of self without feeling affronted, wounded or attacked. They can really hear and see things that differ from their own values and even potentially change their minds without losing their identity or core values. In addition, a strong affirmation practice creates gratitude and grace. Both key ingredients to becoming more tolerant.
4. Increases Resilience
Not only does an affirmation practice help you get over past struggles and feel more confident in the present, it also fortifies you for future challenges! Believing in yourself gives you the ability to overcome whatever you’re facing and the best part is it’s automatic! Once your practice is in place you can face challenges head on without a second thought. You just KNOW you’ll get through it and be ok on the other side. And hey, if it’s hard you’ll just write an affirmation for that and bolster your confidence!
One thing we all know for sure is that life isn’t always going to be easy. Doing daily affirmations trains your brain just like exercise trains your muscles! Again, back to that marathon, would you expect to run it without working up to it? No! Preparing our hearts and minds for future struggles enables us to sail through them much easier and to recover much more quickly. Imagine that affirmations provide all the ingredients for lemonade, so when life hands you lemons… you’re ready!
5. Changes Your Brain
This one was by far the most shocking to me. So, first off, who would even think to do this type of research? Second, can you believe this is a thing!!!
Apparently, neurologists and psychiatrists are all about using MRI machines in every way they can think of! So, they did scans of people’s brains and then had them start an affirmation practice and scanned them again. And guess what… their brains changed! Specifically, there’s an increase in the neural pathways in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain involved in positive valuation and self-related information processing. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t know there was a specific part of the brain that does that. Turns out there is!
So, when you do affirmations, you’re literally exercising the part of your brain that makes you feel good about yourself and sorts out how information relates to you! There’s physical scientific proof of all the benefits listed above and here it is… you rewired your brain to be more confident, tolerant and resilient! And guess what that all leads to over all improved mental and physical health!
Getting Started
Pin it!!!
I could go on all day about the incredible benefits of affirmations, but at this point I’m pretty sure you get the point. There isn’t any part of your life that won’t be improved by starting a practice. People have even reported improvements in both mental and physical health conditions and chronic disease. And all you have to do is say nice things to yourself. I know it might feel silly at first but that seems a small price to pay for all these rewards.
While there’s no consensus regarding how many times you have to say your affirmations or how often there are some general guidelines to get the greatest benefits of affirmations.
- Your affirmations should be believable and related to things that are of value to you.
- It is beneficial to do them consistently, preferably at least once a day.
- Writing them down or saying them in the mirror seems to increase the impact.
If you’ve read my affirmation journey you know how difficult it was for me to start this practice and how much it’s changed my life. I know it can be challenging when you’re struggling with self-esteem to create affirmations. I’ve been there. But you can’t wait until you feel better about yourself to get started.
A Little Head Start
I’m sharing my affirmations with you. And to make it easier and more fun I’ve had 54 of them printed on custom cards! You can draw a new one daily, carry one around with you or tape a couple to your mirror. I do all 3. It’s fun to see what I get each day but there are some I need to see regularly and others I carry when I know I’m struggling with something in particular and might need a reminder.
Whether you write your own or get a set of cards, don’t wait to start this lifechanging practice! You won’t believe the changes you’ll see or how fast you’ll see them!
For a limited time you can kickstart your own powerful affirmation practice by reviewing my most popular and impactful challenge ever! (I left the recordings up just for you! Check it out here!)
Were you shocked by any of these benefits of affirmations? Do you have a practice of you own? How has it affected you? Tell me in the comments! I can’t wait to read about it!
